Why do you write as if Ukrainian people don’t have a will of their own and it must be someone in the west pulling them away. Why is it so impossible to see that Ukrainians don’t want to be another periphery of a Mafia state Russia and that wish is absolutely rational? Especially when they can see how well things are going in their neighbor Poland.
I absolutely accept that they "want" that.
So what?
In addition to "wanting" it, they have to be able to arrange matters so they can have that.
Since they (obviously) can't fight Russia, they can a) Accommodate Russia, b) Ignore Russia, c) Find someone else to do the fighting, or d) Give in.
The truth is that the "Ukrainians" who "don't want" live in Galicia and to a degree the Volhynia, and Russia would undoubtedly be happy to see them go to Europe.
The question turns (again) on Poland and Germany, and Germany has way, way too much at stake to fight Russia when a deal would be so much more in their interest.